Mike Vick's pit bulls up for adoption

OAKLAND 5 canines deemed fit after evaluation and socialization

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, January 26, 2008

Photo: PAUL CHINN

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Leslie Nuccio snuggles with Hector, one of five pit bulls rescued from former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick's Bad Newz Kennels that was introduced in Oakland, Calif. on Friday, Jan. 25, 2008 after their rehabilitation at foster homes. The dogs will now be available for adoption through the BAD RAP organization. MANDATORY CREDIT FOR PHOTOGRAPHER AND S.F. CHRONICLE/NO SALES - MAGS OUT less

Leslie Nuccio snuggles with Hector, one of five pit bulls rescued from former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick's Bad Newz Kennels that was introduced in Oakland, Calif. on Friday, Jan. 25, 2008 after ... more

Photo: PAUL CHINN

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Tim Racer, co-founder of the dog rescue group BAD RAP, holds Hector while Oakland Raiders player Jarrod Cooper, left, speaks at a news conference about five pit bulls rescued from former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick's Bad Newz Kennels in Oakland, Calif. on Friday, Jan. 25, 2008. The dogs will now be available for adoption through the BAD RAP organization. less

Tim Racer, co-founder of the dog rescue group BAD RAP, holds Hector while Oakland Raiders player Jarrod Cooper, left, speaks at a news conference about five pit bulls rescued from former Atlanta Falcons ... more

Photo: PAUL CHINN

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Nicole Rattay, left, and Leslie Nuccio holds Dutch, one of five pit bulls rescued from former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick's Bad Newz Kennels that were introduced in Oakland, Calif. on Friday, Jan. 25, 2008 after their rehabilitation at foster homes. The dogs will now be available for adoption through the BAD RAP organization. less

Nicole Rattay, left, and Leslie Nuccio holds Dutch, one of five pit bulls rescued from former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick's Bad Newz Kennels that were introduced in Oakland, Calif. on Friday, Jan. ... more

Photo: PAUL CHINN

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Jonny Justice kisses his foster parent Cris (who would not release his last name) after five pit bulls rescued from former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick's Bad Newz Kennels were introduced in Oakland, Calif. on Friday, Jan. 25, 2008 after their rehabilitation at foster homes. The dogs will now be available for adoption through the BAD RAP organization. less

Jonny Justice kisses his foster parent Cris (who would not release his last name) after five pit bulls rescued from former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick's Bad Newz Kennels were introduced in Oakland, ... more

Photo: PAUL CHINN

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Jonny Justice, lower right, looks jealous while his human Cris (no last name given) turns his attention towards Ernie when five pit bulls rescued from former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick's Bad Newz Kennels were introduced in Oakland, Calif. on Friday, Jan. 25, 2008 after their rehabilitation at foster homes. The dogs will now be available for adoption through the BAD RAP organization. MANDATORY CREDIT FOR PHOTOGRAPHER AND S.F. CHRONICLE/NO SALES - MAGS OUT less

Five dogs that were rescued from the most notorious dog-fighting kennel in the country trotted out in Oakland on Friday to meet the public, wag their tails and try to dispel some long-standing human prejudices about canines.

They were, as always, man's best friend, even if man has not always held up his end of the relationship.

"This dog is somehow able to put its past aside and move forward," said dog lover Kim Ramirez, rubbing the ears of a 3-year-old pit bull named Teddles. "We humans can learn from that."

The dogs are pit bull terriers, among dozens rescued in a celebrated raid last year on the Virginia dog-fighting kennel owned by disgraced NFL quarterback Michael Vick. Ten of Vick's dogs were awarded to Bad Rap, a pit bull rescue group in Oakland that has spent months evaluating and socializing the dogs and placing them in foster homes.

Friday, the dogs came to the main lounge at the Oakland animal shelter to meet the public for the first time in their new role as pit bull ambassadors.

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"He's experiencing normal life now," said Ramirez, a Fremont resident who is looking after Teddles until a permanent adoption can be arranged. "He follows you into the kitchen. He's very gentle. He likes oatmeal. He likes rope toys. When you're a dog in a dog-fighting kennel, you don't get a lot of toys."

Bad Rap founder Tim Racer, who was holding another ambassador, Hector, in his lap and scratching Hector's ears, said dogs fight because dog owners train them to fight.

"Dog fighting is cruelty, which is a human activity and a human illness," Racer said. "It's not the dog's fault."

According to Racer, hardly any of the dogs at Vick's kennels were dangerous or unfit to be pets.

"All dogs need to be evaluated as individuals," he said. "They're entitled to it. Otherwise, a dog like Hector would be thrown into the rendering plant."

Vick, the suspended former star quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, is serving a 23-month prison sentence in connection with the raid last April on his Bad Newz Kennel in rural Virginia and the confiscation of 66 dogs. Vick pleaded guilty to dog-fighting charges and admitted to hanging and drowning dogs that would not fight.

Among the shelter volunteers who have worked with Vick's dogs is Oakland Raiders safety Jarrod Cooper, who said he has been shocked and troubled by the sight of countless injured and neglected fighting dogs that end up at the Oakland pound.

"If someone is doing this to an animal," Cooper said, "he can't be too far away from doing it to people."

Shelter Director Adam Parascandola said about half of the 250 dogs at the shelter are pit bulls, and many show signs of neglect or cruelty. The shelter, Bad Rap and members of the Raiders have started an educational outreach program to fight animal cruelty in Oakland.

How to adopt a dog

Michael Vick's former dogs are among scores of pit bulls available for adoption from the Bad Rap kennel in Oakland. Prospective owners must pass a rigorous screening and pay $150. More information is available on the group's Web site, www.bad rap.org.

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